Düsseldorf, Germany

Düsseldorf sits on the Rhine with about 620,000 residents and serves as the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia. The 1288 Old Town packs 260 pubs and breweries into 0.5 square kilometers, earning the nickname "the longest bar in the world," while the 1973 Schumacher Brewery refined Altbier's modern form. The 1818 Kunstakademie trained artists Joseph Beuys and Gerhard Richter, and the 1928 Hetjens Museum holds the world's largest ceramics collection across 8,000 years of pottery. The 1827 Königsallee ranks among Germany's most expensive shopping boulevards, and the 1996 Media Harbour features Frank Gehry's three-building complex. What ties these eras together is best discovered on foot.